£20m will be put into global sum every year for subject access requests

Practices will be given access to a data protection officer (DPO) through their CCG, according to the new GP contract.

The five-year contract, announced by NHS England and the BMA today, will also see a £20m funding boost added to the global sum each year - for the next three years - to cover GPs when dealing with subject access requests.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into effect on 25 May last year, GPs must designate a DPO to monitor compliance to the law and act as a point of contact for patients requesting access to their data.

The new GP contract, published today, said: 'In recognition of income loss and workload from subject access requests, £20m of additional funding will be added to the global sum for the next three years.'

In a statement, the BMA told GPs: ‘Funding for practices to deal with subject access requests following the removal of the ability to cover costs under GDPR legislation.

‘Practices will also have access to a DPO through their CCG, to provide support on GDPR issues.’